Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence
by GreenSkittlesForGaara
Summary: Levy has found the school of her dreams, Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence; a boarding school known for its beauty and etiquette program. Why does she love it? It has the most beautiful library she has ever seen. But now that she's attending, will the library live up to expectation? And what's with the people who live in the Fairy Tail dorm, her new home? GaLe and others. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence. The best school in Magnolia, and one of the top boarding schools in Fiore. Priding itself in the perfection of its campus, teachers, students and uniforms, MVAE is a classic, internationally accredited boarding school where students are treated as individuals. The school considers itself the idyllic place for students to grow and develop. The curriculum is specifically designed to allow students to achieve their optimal potential while maintaining their individuality. Etiquette is praised highly at MVAE and as such, part of their student curriculum is dedicated to refining their courtesy, civility, elegance and class. The students are…_

Levy sighed happily. The pamphlet for MVAE was so beautiful, showing rolling green lawns and Victorian buildings. She looked up from the pamphlet, up to the real deal in front of her. Students milled around her, many doing the same thing as she was; saying goodbye to their parents and heading in to explore the grounds. She was happy that my luggage had been dropped off the day before, now she didn't have to be weighed down.

She turned back to her mother. She was already tearing up. Levy grasped her hands and said, "Everything's going to be alright. I'll call you every weekend, and we'll always keep up to date on the internet." Her reassuring didn't seem to help, just reminded the mother that she was leaving. They'd never been separated for more than a day.

"Oh Levy," she hiccoughed, "I don't know what I'll do without you. Who will I take to the movies? Eat out with?" After her father left a few years ago, she had become such a recluse. The only friends she had were Levy and their cat.

Levy smiled apologetically. "I have to do this. Maybe you can talk with that girl at work you've been friendly with? She might want to go to the movies with you." Her mother hiccoughed again and nodded. They shared a final hug. It would be over two months until they could see each other again.

Levy steeled herself and turned to the school again. Nearly everyone was in casual dress so there was no way of knowing who would be in my dorm. I was in the biggest one, Fairy Tail. All the dorms were named after mythical creatures, the other two being Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale. Apparently the founder had a thing for the fantastical. She walked through the school's main high gates. A few students were standing near the entrance in their uniforms, one from each dorm. Levy headed to the girl that had the insignia for her dorm. The girl had long fiery red hair and a cool demeanour.

She smiled at Levy when she approached. "Fairy Tail dorm?" she asked politely. Levy nodded. "I'm Erza. I'm the current student council president, and a member of this dorm. Do you need a pamphlet or directions?" She was very eloquent. A perfect role model.

Levy declined her offers. "No, I have studied the pamphlet I had enough to already know at least the outside of the school layout. Have you lived in Fairy Tail long?"

Erza nodded. "I've grown up here at Mavis Vermillion Academy. Master Makarov took me in when I was a small girl in the town's orphanage."

Levy looked at her, surprised. "So the school took you in? That's amazing!"

Erza smiled again. "Yes, Master Makarov decided many years ago that he would bring the orphans here. Since then, the town's orphanage has actually closed; there was no need anymore. This is why Fairy Tail has the largest population. We are all there."

"Do they pay your tuition?"

"Yes, though we still have to show that we are a worthy investment. Though to date, I haven't seen anyone that didn't work their hardest to prove themselves." Her grin widened. "We all see Master Makarov as our father, we want to make him proud."

Levy spoke for a while more before heading further into the school. The information left her mind reeling. What kind of a school is this? What kind of a guy is this Master Makarov?! She knew he was the headmaster overseeing Fairy Tail dorm, but this was a bit crazy. How many students had he adopted in his time here…?

* * *

Levy waltzed around the school, taking in all the sights. She had passed the oval as she walked into the school, as well as the area dedicated to physical fitness. This area included a swimming pool, gym and ball courts. The main building and its connected sub building loomed over the school on the top of a hill. Beside it sat the large main hall, the location for many balls and events. In the far corner, on the opposite end of the grounds to the fitness area, was the student commons. It included a large open air plaza, the cafeteria, a small function room and the three dorms. Fairy Tail was certainly bigger, almost twice the size of the other two dorms. It also looked slightly haphazard, with many extensions having been added. There was a good chance that it had been the same size as the other two dorms, but they kept having to make it bigger to fit the incoming orphaned students. Levy wondered if that meant roughly half the students would be like that. She drifted off while staring at the dorm. She must've ended up with a lost look on her face because she was soon approached by a busty blonde.

A hand waved in front of her face, knocking her out of her stupor. "Hellllooo! Anybody in there?" Levy jumped slightly and looked at the girl. She was very attractive; shoulder length blonde hair much like her own, large breasts (very unlike her own) and a very short skirt. The girl grinned. "Hey, are you new here today?" Levy nodded her assent. "Which dorm?" Fairy Tail. "That's awesome! Me too! I only came in last year. I'm Lucy. Are you a paying, scholarship or adopted student?"

Levy tilted her head. "Adopted? As in, the orphaned students?"

Lucy nodded. "Yup, those. We generally just call them adopted, because they treat the Master like their dad. It's easier. So I guess you're not one of them? I'm paying, myself."

"I'm a scholarship student. You must come from a pretty rich family, to be able to pay in.

Lucy laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Yeah, don't remind me. I wish I was just here on a scholarship. I tried to change to that this year but my father wouldn't hear of it."

"Why do you want to be scholarship?"

"I just hate living off my dad, you know? I'd much prefer to be able to attend here, with no ties. Be able to call this place my family." Her eyes darkened a little.

Levy tried to lighten the mood a little. "So, uh, are there any cute boys in the dorm?" It was the best she could think of at the time. Though, she wasn't entirely uninterested in the subject.

Lucy's attitude skyrocketed back to happy. "Oh yeah, we have plenty of crazy hot guys. It depends on your preference. We have cute, sexy, cool, brooding…"

"Brooding? That doesn't sound all that attractive." Levy wrinkled her nose.

Lucy tutted. "Don't knock it till you try it. Many girls love that type, wanna be the girl to change 'em, you know?"

"I suppose…"

"Have you been inside the dorm yet?" Levy shook her head and Lucy's eyes brightened even more. She looped arms with the other blonde. "Well, allow me to give you the grand tour."

Levy smiled. To think she'd be able to make a friend so easily. The day was going pretty well so far. They walked arm-in-arm down the side of hill to the dorm. The front doors were massive, and true to size, very heavy. Levy knew she would get a workout each day just trying to get in and out of the dorms. Inside on the first floor was the Fairy Commons; a check-in desk, a large sitting area with an impressive multimedia setup, a bank of computers up the far end and in the corner a door that led to a small kitchen and dining area. A few other doors on this floor led to some bathrooms, the communal laundry, a cleaning and linen cupboard, and the dorm mother's bedroom.

Lucy first led her to the two people standing beside the check-in book; a beautiful lady with long silver hair, and a very short, very old man. Lucy introduced them as Mirajane the dorm mother and Master Makarov. Levy shook their hands very shyly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both…" Levy muttered quietly.

Makarov grinned. "New blood huh? Welcome to the family!" It seems Lucy and Erza weren't joking about the family vibe.

Mirajane smiled gently, saying sweetly, "It's lovely to meet you too. Just call me Mira. I used to be an adopted student here at this dorm. Master Makarov is allowing me to stay whilst my two siblings finish."

Makarov laughed. "Nonsense Mira, you know you can stay as long as you want. Elfman and Lisanna too. I'm sure I can find jobs for them too!"

"Master, you're too kind," replied Mira, looking sad. "We could never impose on you more than we already are."

"You're my children, you'll never be imposing."

"Oh Master…" Mira wiped away a tear.

Lucy turned to Levy. "They're always like this, don't worry." Levy certainly wasn't worried, just… confused.

The next group they met was a collection of students relaxing on the couches on the first floor landing. A guy with bright pink hair, arm wrestling with another who was only wearing shorts. Two more people, one with blue hair in that fell into tight curls watching the arm wrestling couple intently, and a man with long black hair and multiple piercings, sat here as well off to the side.

The boy with piercings intrigued her. His eyes were a piercing red, angrily staring off into the distance. He had so many piercings; through his eyebrows, ears, nostrils and lip. His tanned skin showed off his large muscles, as well as multiple scars on his forearms. He wore all black. Everything about him screamed 'BAD NEWS' but Levy couldn't look away. She finally got what Lucy meant by girls liking the brooding type.

Lucy happily pushed her forward, presenting her like a prize. "Everyone, this is Levy. Levy, meet Natsu, Gray, Juvia and Gajeel."

The wrestlers didn't look up, too busy having a staring contest between themselves. Gajeel didn't even budge, just continues staring out the window as if nobody was there. Juvia looked at her and squinted, as if assessing her. "Another rival perhaps…?" she muttered away, her stare becoming more intense by the second.

All in all, a great welcome.

* * *

Levy laid back on her bare bed, staring at the ceiling. She had left Lucy and the others before to look around the dorms a while longer and check out her room. Surprisingly enough, she had been given the room beside Lucy's. And apparently, beside Gajeel's as well. Of the three floors in Fairy Tail dorm, she was placed on the only co-ed floor, between her first friend and the guy she found to be crazy attractive (for reasons unknown currently).

She heard a knock at the door. Lucy bounded in a moment later, without waiting for an answer. Levy reminded herself that the doors don't lock automatically. She also mentally remarked on how Lucy's breasts preceded her into the room. She pretended the smile on her face was from seeing Lucy, not from that mental image.

Lucy sat down in the chair at her still-bare desk and looked around at all the boxes on the floor. "Ah, memories," she sighed. "I left most of my gear here over the holidays so I only really have to unpack my clothes and my laptop."

"Lucky you," Levy remarked jokingly.

"Want me to help you? The Gray and Natsu went to the gym to see who could pedal fastest." She shook her head. "The rivalry never stops."

"What about the other two? Juvia and…" Levy didn't finish the sentence. She wanted to avoid blushing, thinking about that guy.

Lucy, despite never getting an answer, began unpacking the closest box. "Gajeel left soon after you to lie down in his room. Juvia has a massive crush on Gray, so she likely followed after them. Oh," she looked up from her work. "Before I forget. It's probably best, for the sake of your, well, everything, to not even consider Gray. Juvia will tear you apart." The look on her face told Levy that this was a very serious statement.

She laughed nervously. "I'll definitely keep that in mind. I don't think he's my type though. Too slender."

Lucy nodded assent. "That's the spirit. Just imagine him as a non-sexual entity. It's definitely for the best."

We laughed and got to work on the boxes. After Levy finished the first box, she decided to risk asking about him. "What… what about the others? Do they have any obsessed girls after them? Like, Natsu and… Gajeel…" She almost stuttered on his name, blushing.

Lucy looked down at her on the floor, assessing her. A grin spread on her face. She was caught. "Gajeel, huh?" Levy stared at the ground, trying to burn a hole in it. "As far as I'm aware, nobody will try to kill you if you go after him."

She looked up at her new friend. "Do you think… he'd be interested?"

Lucy tilted her head, looking her up and down. "Hmm… I don't know. To be honest, I've never seen him with anyone, and I've never asked. We aren't really close at all." Levy looked back down at the ground. "Buuut, I think you could do with looking a bit more rebellious. I mean, most people like others who look like them, right? Well, I guess, maybe not you."

Levy wrinkled her nose at her. "I've never really seen his type as attractive before, I don't know why I like him." She shrugged. She really had no idea. "But I suppose I could change my look a little. I don't mind, I don't exactly have a _style_ at the moment anyway."

Lucy's eyes gleamed. "A makeover?!"

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe not that far. I have hardly any money, so I won't be able to do anything drastic."

Lucy lifted an eyebrow. "I think you forget that I'm filthy rich."

Levy waved her hands around, shocked. "Nononono! I can't have you pay for something like this, no way."

Lucy stood up. "No, I've decided. We're going shopping." She started making for the door.

"Lucy, no!"

She whipped around, hands on her hips. "You've dangled a makeover in front of my eyes. There's no going back now. This is probably even _more_ for my enjoyment now than it is for yours. Beside, I'll never turn down an opportunity to spend my father's money. God knows he could use a bit less of it."

Levy grimaced. "But-"

"No buts. We're going."

She hung her shoulders in defeat. "Can we at least put a limit on the spendings? Like $100?"

Lucy laughed. "Oh hell no! How about this: in exchange for using my money, you have to do anything I tell you. No complaints on what I choose."

Levy contemplated this for a while. What if she wants to shave Levy's head? Or something crazy like dye it blue?! Surely not. With a nervous heart, she finally agreed to the terms. Maybe she shouldn't have, once she saw the evil genius glint in Lucy's eyes.

* * *

**Alright, that's it for chapter one! Hopefully the next one should be out very soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Gajeel laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Today was boring. Most of his favourite haunts had been closed by the school for the open day. Everyone was busy. There was no one to annoy and nothing to do. He'd already been to the gym, and seeing as it was currently occupied by the two morons, he wasn't planning on going there again anytime soon.

He sighed, annoyed. Where was a good fight when he needed one? Maybe he should go into town and scrap with someone in an alley. He mulled over that idea for a while but then decided it was far too much of an effort for what would be either a very disappointing fight or not one at all.

Normally at this time of day he'd be strolling around, looking for a girl he could have some fun with. Sadly all of them were busy trying to make new friends with the new kids. He could hear giggling in the hallway, the screech of annoying chicks trying to impress the newbies.

He got up and grabbed his guitar. No matter what his 'friends' said, he believed himself to be an excellent singer and musician. He plucked at the strings, 'shoo-de-doo-ba-ing' along to the sound. A small grin played on his face. He definitely had a future as a jazz player.

* * *

The marathon shopping spree was over, finally.

They were back at the dorms. The sun was now setting. The entire shopping trip had taken almost five hours and Levy was absolutely exhausted. Erza had joined them for the ride, almost as in love with the idea of a makeover as Lucy was. She had thankfully managed to convince the girls to not make her entire wardrobe black. She refused to give up colour. The two girls got their revenge though, and decided if it wasn't going to be black, it was going to be skimpy.

Levy sighed, ready for bed. But the night was far from over; now it was time for the worst part of all. Hair colouring time.

Apparently Levy was not the only one getting her hair coloured that night. Natsu was also due for a top up of his colour. Lucy explained that the colour was the result of a bet made last year, and that Natsu had somewhat taken to the colour. Said it brought out his eyes.

Levy didn't even know what colour had been chosen yet. Lucy snuck into the hair aisle of the chemist while Erza was swatching her face with various makeup products.

She walked with Lucy and Natsu to the second floor women's bathroom. As she passed by the door next to hers, she could hear a horrible twanging sound of someone attempting to play guitar. She nudged Lucy and indicated at the door. Lucy laughed. "Yeah… that is the wondrous guitar skills of Gajeel. He plays in his room pretty often."

"And he doesn't get any better?" Levy asked, shocked.

Natsu and Lucy just laughed. Natsu walked up to the door and slammed on it. "Oi, Metalhead! Either learn to play or shut up!"

A harsh yell replied. "You wanna go Salamander?!"

Natsu was fired up now. "Hell yeah! Let's go right now!"

They heard footsteps as Gajeel stormed to the door. He yanked it open and glared down at Natsu. "What did you say about my music?"

"It's shit."

Gajeel's eye twitched. "You just don't know good music."

"Even the new chick hated it," Natsu jested back.

His eyes snapped up to Levy. She inwardly shrunk. Great. First time he's ever looked at her, and because she hated his music. His eyes narrowed. "New chick has shit taste too."

Levy blushed and looked away. She tried to think of something to say but her vocabulary eluded her. "I, uh, um…" she stuttered.

Lucy sighed with exasperation, and grabbed Natsu's collar. "Let's go." She dragged him down the hallway. Levy looked at her, desperate to be dragged too. When she realised that there was no hope of that, she gulped and looked back up at Gajeel. He glared down at her, murderous.

Her blush deepened. His eyes were so intense. "So, um… h-hey," she finally got out. His look didn't change. She finally couldn't take it anymore and just quickly stammered a goodbye and ran after Lucy. What a crazily intense person.

Gajeel slammed the door closed and stomped back to his bed and the guitar perched on top. Stupid Salamander. Stupid Bunny girl. Stupid new chick. His music was amazing. He sat on the edge of the bed, fuming. He bet none of them had ever picked up an instrument. Who were they to tell him he was bad?!

Another knock sounded on the door. He was about to yell when a soft voice called out. "Gajeel, it's Juvia." He grumbled and called out for her to come in.

She came in, slowly and gracefully. She always had a grace about her, like flowing water. "Juvia noticed that you were fighting with Natsu again." She sat down in his desk chair. "Did you want to talk?"

He glared at her. "Why the hell would I want to _talk_ about it?! It's just stupid Salamander, being stupid."

"…He insulted your music, didn't he?"

"…"

Juvia sighed. "Maybe he has a point._ Because_," She raised her hand, stilling his objections, "you want people to enjoy your music, don't you? Maybe you should adjust it a little, find a midway between what you like, and what they like."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because there's nothing more useless than a musician who has nobody who wants to listen to him."

He furrowed his brow, but sat in silence. She had a point. He guessed. "I'll think about it," he finally grumbled.

"Good. Now, on to more… intriguing subjects. Gray looked beautiful today, didn't he?" she sighed in happiness. "I got to see his amazing chest again today, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it."

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Why am I friends with you?" He sounded annoyed, but internally, he was happy. Juvia was his oldest friend, both of them coming from an orphanage in the next town over. While she certainly was very strange, he had a soft spot for her. She kept him grounded, stopped him from going overboard.

"Because you enjoy spending time with Juvia," she stated. She smiled down at him on the bed.

He shrugged. "I suppose. You're less annoying than the others."

She nodded. "I'll take that as a yes."

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. They listened to the continued shouts and laughter of the other students in the dorm.

"What do you think of that Levy girl?" Juvia finally asked.

"Who?" Gajeel sighed.

"The new girl with Lucy. Short, blonde hair, cute. Apparently she's in the room next to you."

He closed his eyes. He assumed that was the one who was with Natsu before. "I dunno. Not really my type. I like 'em curvy."

"You don't have to look at all girls in terms of sexual attractiveness," she scolded.

He grinned. "Is there some other way to look at girls?" Juvia threw a book at him, earning a chuckle. "She looked alright. Cute, I guess."

"That's better."

"Wouldn't fuck her though."

Another book was thrown at him, this time hitting him in the head.

* * *

They taped a sign on the second floor women's bathroom saying that Natsu was inside and set a chair down at the basin. Natsu was up first. Lucy put on gloves and began mixing the peroxide for his brown roots. It would seem she had done this many times.

"Are you naturally blonde Lucy?" asked Levy politely, her brain scrambling for ideas that might get her out of this.

Lucy laughed. "Yes, why?"

"Just because you seem to know what you're doing."

"I do Natsu's hair all the time. I sometimes to Juvia's as well. And Erza's. And Laki's. A surprisingly large amount of people have coloured hair in this school. I think it's a school-wide fad. Even some of the teachers have coloured hair."

Levy hadn't met Laki yet, so she didn't know what colour she had. "What colour does Erza have naturally?"

"Orange," replied Erza as she walked into the bathroom. She smiled at Levy who was sitting on the sink. "I'm a ginger, I just prefer it when it's really vibrant. Kids at the orphanage used to call me Erza Scarlet as a joke. So when I got older, I decided to make my hair actually scarlet."

Levy nodded. Made sense.

Lucy began applying peroxide to Natsu's roots. He fidgeted quite often, resulting in him getting kneed by the 'natural' blonde. Erza and Levy watched them converse for the most part. They argued like an old couple.

"It itches," complained Natsu.

"Well too bad. Do you want pink hair? Deal."

"Can't you scratch it for me?"

"Hell no. When I'm done you can scratch your own scalp. You'll just make it worse though."

"No I won't."

"Oh yes you will."

The continued their bickering until she had covered all his roots. Then she turned to Levy, glint at full evil. "Your turn."

Natsu vacated his chair and Levy sat down, her stomach filled with dread. Her mum was going to kill her. Was she seriously this ready to colour her hair, just to impress one guy? She mulled it over. She definitely wasn't. So why was she still doing it?

Lucy changed her gloves and began mixing up more peroxide. Once it reached the desired consistency, she globbed some on her brush and stood behind Levy. "I bought you clothes, so there's no going back."

Levy sighed. That's why. "Alright, let's do this."

* * *

It was time to wash out her colour. She couldn't believe that the most outrageous idea she'd though of, blue hair, would actually be what she was given. Her hair was piled on her head, fully processed and ready to wash. There was definitely no going back now. She was stuck like this for at least a few months. Maybe she could get it out by the time she went back to visit her mum on holidays…

Natsu was drying himself off, pink staining his board shorts. But, seeing as they were already very stained, it seemed that's what he wore every time Lucy did his hair. Levy stripped to what was now her 'hair-dying swimsuit'; a one piece that Lucy had deemed too ugly to be worn to a swimming pool or beach. Normally she would shower naked but seeing as Natsu was in the room, this was certainly best.

She jumped in the small stall and turned on the water. She kept her eyes screwed tight and she washed out the colour. She could smell it running down her face. It was a far from pleasant experience. When she had finally washed enough for it to be considered 'clean enough', she put a hair mask on top to seal in the colour.

When she hopped out, the seed of dread filled her belly again. What if she looked really stupid? What if they just laughed at her? She sighed and told herself it was too late now to do anything anyway. She quickly dried herself and stepped out. Lucy, Erza and Natsu were all waiting for her. She felt self-conscious all of a sudden and wrapped the towel around her slight frame.

Lucy was the first to speak. "Holy cow! That looks so good Levy!" She was grinning from ear to ear. Natsu had a very similar expression. Erza's was of quiet approval.

"It suits you surprisingly well," said the redhead.

"You are officially a bluenette," grinned Natsu.

"B-bluenette?" Levy stuttered, smiling. It had a nice ring to it. She scrounged up her courage looked in the mirror.

They were right, the blue suited her. She had expected the colour to only wash her out more, but it went well against her pale bookworm skin. Her hazel eyes shone out now. She grinned. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to trust Lucy.

She grinned. "I like it."

She sat back down at the basin while Lucy checked for any damage. Lucy worked tenderly, making sure not to pull on any of the hairs too hard. As she looked, she instructed Levy on correct coloured hair care.

When it seemed that she got off scot-free, Lucy blow-dried her hair and sent her away to get dressed. They all needed to be downstairs for a dorm meeting, where all the new students would be introduced. It was the perfect opportunity to show off to Gajeel, according to Lucy. As such, she was expected to wear nothing but the new items bought for her. Levy sighed. There was a good chance she had already messed it up. His first impression of her wasn't exactly great.

She dumped out all the clothes onto her bed and stared at the pile with dismay. The reason she didn't have a style beforehand was because she didn't have the knowledge. That fact had not changed. She decided on the technique that had worked for her in the past. Close your eyes and pick out something at random.

The first thing she picked up was bright orange, very short dress. That'd do. She pulled that on with a pair of flats. Comfort was always at the forefront of her mind, and this outfit managed that surprisingly well. Only problem was she had never worn anything that short before. She imagined that a lot of skirt-holding would be prominent in her future. She eyed the makeup bags and decided it was not worth the effort to attempt that by herself.

She walked back out to meet up with the others. They were waiting in the seating area of the second floor landing. Natsu had disappeared up to the third floor, the male-only dorm floor. Lucy and Erza stopped their animated conversation to look at her. They each had an expression that resembled the pride of a parent at their child learning to walk. Lucy had to wipe the tears away. "It's beautiful," she sniffed.

Levy smiled. "So you think it looks alright? The orange and blue don't clash?"

They both shook their heads. Levy breathed a sigh of relief. "Shall we then?" she grinned.

They walked together down to the first floor commons. Many people milled around already, chatting in small groups or sitting by themselves. True to Lucy's word, there were many students with bright unnatural hair colours.

They found a small two seater couch and squeezed in together. Sitting on the next couch over was a man with blue hair and a face tattoo. Instead of casual clothes or a school uniform, he wore what looked like work overalls. Erza greeted him and introduced him to Levy as the school groundskeeper, Jellal. He had graduated last year, but remained at Fairy Tail dorm until they could make room for him in the teacher's quarters.

Levy leaned over to Lucy and whispered, "Did he have that tattoo when he was at school here?"

Lucy nodded. "He came to school with Erza, one of the kids they adopted. Apparently his parents were big drug users and one night when they were high, they knocked him out and tattooed him."

Levy opened her mouth in shock. "Are you serious?!" She looked over her shoulder at the couple. Neither of them seemed to have noticed the topic of conversation, too absorbed with each other.

Mira stepped up to the group now and quietened them down. "Alright everyone," she started. "Welcome to a new year at Mavis Vermillion Academy!" There was some clapping. "We welcome thirty-seven new students this year into our dorm. Some of you may be adopted, some may have paid their own way and some others may have achieved a scholarship. But no matter what your background is, remember this; you are now part of the Fairy Tail family! We expect you to love and care for one another, help each other out and to make your new father, Master Makarov, very proud of you."

More cheers sounded, the loudest from those Levy knew to be adopted. "He chose each and every one of you to be his new children. Make sure that he didn't make the wrong decision." Her smile dropped and everyone knew she was very serious. But she soon smiled again, moving onto the next topic. "Now, I will have each and every one of you stand up and introduce yourselves."

Everyone went around the room, giving a short little speech about who they were. Some, like Natsu, laughed and boasted the entire way through. Others like Juvia only managed a few mumbled words while staring at their feet. Gajeel stood. "My name is Gajeel Redfox," he stated disinterestedly. "That's it." He sat back down. There was complete silence. Were it any other student, Mira would have pressed for more information. Seeing as it was Gajeel, she let him slide.

The introductions went on a while longer. Some mentioned whether they were adopted or paid their way but most didn't. None had said they had earned a scholarship. Finally it was Levy's turn. She stood up, a blush already making its way across her face. "Um, my name is Levy McGarden. I… uh… I'm a scholarship student, new here this year." Some mutters spread around the group. Scholarships were very rare. "I like to read… um… that's it. Thank you." She sat down quickly, knowing her face was beet red. Lucy patted her shoulder then stood up to deliver hers.

When she looked up, she noticed Gajeel's eyes on her. He raised one pierced eyebrow and pulled at a strand of his hair, indicating at hers. She was honestly surprised he even knew there was a difference. A grin spread on her face and she nodded. He smirked and turned back to the group.

Maybe he didn't hate her from that scene before with Natsu. Maybe there was a chance.

* * *

**A/N: I originally had the whole shopping trip in, without any of the Gajeel POVs. But after mulling on it a while, I decided that the trip itself was pretty pointless to have in the story (trust me, it was boring), and adding in Gajeel made it far more interesting. It will likely make the story progress better later on anyway.**

**Next chapter: First day of classes!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence**

**Chapter 3**

**Devil Worship?!**

* * *

Levy was woken bright and early the next day by Lucy banging on her door. She rubbed her face and groaned at the noise. She finally got up and trudged to the door. When she opened it, she was happy to see that Lucy came bearing gifts – breakfast, two student diaries and her new uniform. She gratefully accepted a cup of coffee and sat back on her bed, pulling the blanket around her shoulders.

Lucy dropped her loot on the desk and sat in the chair, sipping on her own coffee. "So," she said, smiling brightly. "You ready for your first day?"

Levy shrugged, yawning. "I would prefer to sleep a bit more to be honest. I got a really bad night's sleep." She yawned, bringing the hot liquid back up to her lips. Despite how nonchalant she acted, it still was a first day at a new school. Plus, the library of her dreams would be open today. That alone made her too anxious to sleep properly. She could see the beautiful Victorian style building from her window, practically calling her name.

"That's not the way you should speak about your first day," Lucy pouted. "The first day also means the first impression for most people, and as such, you have to look your best!" Her eyes gleamed with the prospect of showing off. She grabbed the student diaries with gusto, flicking to the page she knew would contain their timetables. "So… you have a tech class first up, with Mr Rocko. Hmm, I have tech as well, but in the classroom down the hall. I can still take you. After that is science… we're not together either… hmm. History… nope. Huh. Oh! There's one. We have Latin together in the afternoon."

Levy smiled. "Well, at least there's one class." It gave them both something to look forward to for the day. Until of course, classes were over and she'd be able to explore the library. Upon further inspection, Lucy found that there were two more classes which they had together – Art and Math.

They ate the breakfast Lucy brought up quickly, sparing little time for chat. They still had an hour before classes started, but according to Lucy that was 'barely any time at all'. As soon as she finished the last piece of toast, Lucy grabbed the tray off her and pulled her out of bed. She ripped open the plastic packet containing her new uniform, throwing it to her. "Uniform. Now." This was more of a demand than a request. Levy hastened to pull on the many layers that comprised her uniform: blouse, skirt, vest, blazer, high socks, shoes, and a tie bearing the insignia for Fairy Tail.

Lucy circled her, assessing the outfit. She rolled up the sides of the skirt, effectively making it shorter. "We'll take it to Ms Aries later, she can fix it," she remarked. When Levy attempted to complain, Lucy reminded her that she was quite a bit shorter than the other girls, and because of that the skirt fell well below her knees. She blushed and agreed, accepting the shorter length. The blazer covered up the lumps from the folding, so it didn't really matter too much. What she couldn't really fix immediately was that the sleeves were also too long, making it so only her fingertips poked out. At least she was allowed to remove the blazer in class, so it wouldn't get in the way.

Once uniform assessment was complete, Lucy sat her in the desk chair and pulled open the newly acquired makeup case. Levy noted that Lucy already had perfectly applied makeup. How long had she been awake…?

Lucy applied her makeup with expert precision, teaching her along the way how to do it herself. Levy listened intently. Her mother wasn't very into makeup, nor were her old friends from home, so she had practically no experience. Because she was teaching as she went, the process took longer than expected. By the time she had a perfectly applied face, it was fifteen minutes until the first class started. Seeing as it was a five minute walk up, and they had to be at least five minutes early, that left only five minutes for hair and readying to leave. Levy thanked herself for packing her bag the night before.

Lucy quickly ran a brush through the blue hair, trying to tame the wild curls into some sort of order. Before long she grew frustrated. Giving up, she grabbed a ribbon and tied most of Levy's hair back, leaving two strands to fall by her face. She patted Levy's head. "That'll do." Levy scrunched up her face. As the morning went on, she felt more and more like Lucy's pet.

But as Levy examined herself in the mirror, she had to hand it to the blonde. She looked great. She grinned up at Lucy in the reflection. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Lucy grinned as well. "Yeah, I know."

They collected their gear and walked out the door. As she slung her bag over her shoulder, Levy turned to her friend and asked where hers was.

It was then Lucy realised she had not packed her bag yet. Squeaking, she rushed to her room. "Sorry, Levy, you'll have to go without me." She stopped to look back at Levy and saw something behind her, making her smile mischievously. A wicked gleam shone in her eye, notifying Levy that something was definitely up. "Hey, why don't you take her? You know the way. Thanks!" She ran in her room, slamming the door closed, leaving Levy, and whoever was behind her alone in the hall before either could object.

* * *

Gajeel watched Lucy run into her room with disdain. Why should he do anything for the new girl? She wasn't his type at all. He looked down at her. She looked up at him, frozen with shock.

The new hair colour suited her. He noticed it the night before and was charitable enough to remark on it. He always approved of a little rebellion. Besides, after spending so much time with Juvia, he had come to the decision that blue hair did indeed look really good on girls. He hazarded to think it might be his favourite hair colour. Not on dudes though.

"New girl," he stated, continuing to stare at her. Most people couldn't look him in the eyes for very long. He wondered how long she'd last.

She blushed, the colour showing brighter than normal against her hair. "H-Hi… Gajeel," she stammered.

He grinned. She was like a little kid. In stature and personality. Her gaze wavered she didn't look away from him. Most other people would have broken away by now. Hell, most people would have ran. He mentally ticked another box. Even if she did resemble a kid, she had more guts than most of the people in the school. It could be that she was frozen in fear though. That did happen occasionally.

He poked her forehead, breaking her out of her reverie. She jumped away from him, blushing harder. A hand was wrapped around her forehead and a pout on her lips. He noted that only her fingertips poked out of her blazer. She was so tiny. "That hurt," she sulked.

His grin widened. "Well I wouldn't have poked you if you weren't frozen. Am I that scary?" He was taunting her, seeing what she would do next.

She frowned. "I'm not scared of you! I… I was…" she fumbled around for an excuse.

He sighed mockingly and walked past her, placing a hand on her head and messing up her hair, much to her displeasure. "You don't have to lie now. Nearly everyone is scared of the _big bad Gajeel_. As they should be," he added, nodding to himself.

She swatted at his hand, awkwardness forgotten. He knew he had riled her up now. Another thing he had learned from his time with Juvia: you never mess with a woman's hair. "I am _not_ afraid of you. I was looking at your eyes. I've never met someone with red eyes before."

He looked down at her as she trotted at his side down the hall. She had a reasonably serious expression on her face. He cocked a brow. "They're just brown," he stated matter-of-factly.

"No, they are definitely red," she pouted back.

He sighed. It seemed she had a very stubborn personality. Which didn't exactly mesh with his own stubbornness. But he let this one slide – he had to admit that his eyes did look kinda reddish. "Whatever. So I'm taking you to class?"

Levy sighed, looking back at Lucy's room. They could hear her angry complaining and heavy objects being thrown. She obviously had completely forgotten about unpacking. "Yeah, it seems so. Sorry Gajeel."

He shrugged. "Whatever, we're going the same way. Besides, you're a scholarship student, which means you were chosen especially by the old man. Everything you do reflects directly onto him. I don't want you causing any trouble for him," he grumbled. Master had saved him from that orphanage. He owed the guy.

Levy trained her eyes on the floor. "Seems I'll have to be very careful."

"Yup."

She scowled at him, but the grin he sported made her crack a smile too. He had to admit, she was kinda cute when she smiled.

* * *

Levy silently thanked Lucy for forgetting to pack a bag. There was a good chance the blonde had planned this anyway. Now she got to walk to class alone with Gajeel. Surprisingly, the conversation flowed pretty well, at least after he had teased her enough.

They walked out the front doors together, Mira waving them out. The sun was already high in the sky, beating down on them. It was still summer, so they were sweltering in their blazers. At least the main buildings were air-conditioned.

"Oi, shrimp."

His voice broke her out of her thoughts. She snapped up to look at his face. The annoyance there said that she had probably spaced out. She blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah. What class do you have?" he grumbled.

"Oh, right," she laughed, fishing through her bag for her diary. "Um… let's see… wait. Did you call me shrimp?" she looked back up at him, mildly ticked off.

He grinned. "Yeah, what of it?"

She scowled. "I am not a shrimp," she stated.

He laughed and placed his arm on her head. "Suuuure."

She swatted him off again, gaining her more laughter. He had the strangest laugh. Rather than a 'haha' noise, it more resembled a 'gihi'. She scanned through her book again, ignoring his taunts. "I have a computer class with Mr Rocko."

"Well, that makes my life easier squirt. You're with me."

She whacked him. "I am not a squirt either." While she maintained an air of annoyance on the outside, internally she did a little dance. First class with her crush. She could tolerate all the nicknames in the world for that.

She knew about his penchant for nicknames before that morning anyway. Lucy had told her while putting on her makeup, as well as that it's best to fight back a bit. She knew that Gajeel quite enjoyed playful banter, and would often call her 'bunny girl', after her most recent Halloween costume. The fact that he could tease her and she'd swipe back made him consider her a friend. He hated the whiney girls.

Levy grinned to herself. Everything was going according to plan. They walked together up the path to the teaching building, arguing about her height. She really was tiny in comparison to him. She barely reached his collarbones. She wondered how awkward it would be, should they ever kiss. He'd have to lean down a hell of a long way to get to her lips…

"You're spacing out again shortie." Her hair was ruffled again. It seemed to be his favourite move.

She bumped into his side, hiding her giggle for being able to touch him. she pulled back and focused on fixing her hair. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked why you chose to apply for MVAE. I heard from Juvia you transferred from far away. Couldn't you have found a school closer?"

She blushed. Had Juvia said that on her own, or had Gajeel been interested in her? "Oh, I chose this school for many reasons. But I really fell in love because of its library." She didn't notice him stiffen beside her, and went into gush-mode. "I saw it in the brochure and it was a done deal. Ah…" she sighed happily. "The dark woods, the tall bookshelves, the running ladders, the deep, red coloured seats. It reminds me really strongly of the library described in Beauty and the Beast. I fell in love with that story as a child. Have you ever been in there Gajeel?" She turned up to look at him and finally noticed.

He was very stiff, refusing to look at her. His jaw was clenched. While he didn't stop walking, his movements were now robotic, as if he now had to force himself to remain calm. "G-Gajeel?" she stammered quietly. She reached out a hand to touch him. The contact on his arm made him jump like her hand was ice.

He shook his head, breaking himself out of whatever mental state he was in. His usual smirk spread onto his face and he looked down at her. She could tell it was forced. "Sorry shrimp, I guess I spaced out that time. The library huh?"

She guessed he didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him, so she moved on. "Yeah… yeah, I really like it. So, um, what about you? You're one of the adopted kids, aren't you?" He nodded assent. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it," she quickly added, not wanting to force him to talk about anything.

"Nah, it's fine. But it's a long story. I, uh, like libraries too." His segway was terrible. But she let it slide. She grinned at the thought of Gajeel lazing around with a book. Possibly one of the sexiest thoughts she'd had of him yet. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or an example that she liked books _too_ much...

The bell rung, signifying the first class would begin in five minutes. He cursed and took off at a jog. She ran after him at full pelt just to match his long strides. They ran inside the main building's front doors and up the stairs to the second floor classrooms. Gajeel grabbed her timetable from her hand and checked which room they were in. She didn't bother objecting. As long as he got her to class on time, it didn't matter.

They finally stopped out the front of a computer lab room, Levy panting heavily. Gajeel looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat. The teacher smiled at them and gestured to two computers near the front of the class. He didn't even ask if they were supposed to be in that class - it was as if already knew. It seemed everyone else was already in. As they sat down, the second bell went for classes to begin.

"Alright," started the teacher, clapping his hands and gaining everyone's attention. "Welcome to Technology class. Some of you will be continuing this class from previous years while others will be starting fresh. As you can imagine, we will be learning all about computers and current technology. We will start the year…"

He dragged on with the speech for fifteen minutes, handing out information for what will be their first assessment. Gajeel already had his head in his hand, dozing next to her. She decided his sleeping face was cute, a nice difference from his usual gruff demeanour. It was very hard to do anything with him that close to her. His shoulder was practically touching hers, every breath shooting nervous electricity through her. Now that he wasn't teasing her and constantly keeping her on her toes, she began to regress into her shyness. Even while he wasn't watching her. She kept sneaking glances at him throughout the class. It seemed that the teacher had no plans to wake him up. She noticed that Mr Rocko also sported a tie emblazoned with the Fairy Tail symbol. Maybe he had known Gajeel for a long time and understood his personality. And maybe she was very obvious in her affection, because he kept smiling at her knowingly.

The bell rung again for the five minutes period to get to the next class. Surprisingly, Gajeel was out of his seat before she was. Or maybe not so surprising, given that he didn't have to close or save anything, nor shut down his computer. It had never been on.

He checked against her timetable again before they walked out and found out that they had the next class together as well. He smirked. "You stalkin' me shrimp?"

She puffed out her cheeks and took back her diary. "How could I possibly be stalking you? Maybe it's _you_ who's stalking _me_!" she taunted back.

He laughed and ruffled her hair. "Alright, don't get your panties in a knot."

She blushed and crossed her arms, looking away. "Stupid Gajeel," she pouted.

They walked side by side through the school to the sub building where basic science was held. The class had already entered, so they made their way in, sitting at the only bench still available. A small Lamia Scale student was already sitting at the bench. When he saw Gajeel all blood drained from his face and he quickly ran away, sitting on the other side of the room. A Blue Pegasus girl consoled the boy, glaring over at the couple.

Gajeel seemed completely oblivious to all the happenings, instead fishing around for his textbook. He glanced up at Levy. "Oi," he muttered. "Get yer stuff out before the teacher shows up."

Levy tilted her head, confused. "You didn't care at all last class... why such a big change?"

His eyes hardened. "Because last class was easy crap with an easy teacher. This teacher though..."

A loud bang resounded from the front of the lab room. Levy jumped in her seat and faced forward. The sound had come from a hand slamming down on the teacher's desk, the hand belonging to rough looking blonde man. He had a long scar falling across one eye and looked extremely menacing. Everyone was silent. Even Gajeel was at attention. This man was obviously not someone you crossed.

He began his opening speech with a thunderous voice. "I am Laxus Dreyar: grandson of Master Makarov, and potentially the inheritor of Fairy Tail dorm. I am also you science teacher this year. You will refer to me as Laxus or Sir. Never Mr. Dreyar." His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the students. "I expect to be treated with nothing but the highest respect. Got that?!"

"Yes Sir!" resounded the class.

Laxus lectured the students about the curriculum for the year. The current entire semester would be based on electricity. His eyes seemed to gleam when he stated this. If any of the students made any unnecessary noises or movements, chalk would fly through the air to strike them on their foreheads. Laxus had excellent aim and a seemingly unending supply of chalk stubs.

After an agonizing hour of being drilled on what was expected of them as MVAE students, the bell rang to free them. As they scrambled to stuff their belongings back in their bags for the next class, Laxus continued to speak. "The first assessment will be done in pairs, as will most of the course work this year. I expect you to choose your partner and sit next to them next class. Alright, dismissed."

They practically ran out, clearing the room in fifteen seconds flat.

Levy leaned against the wall outside, hand to her head. It pounded with a headache, brought on by Laxus's shouting. "Is he always like that?" she asked exasperated.

Gajeel stood next to her. "Yeah. He's a real hard ass. Scary mother fucker..."

Levy looked up at him. He seemed almost as tired as she was. She gave him a small encouraging smile. "What class do you have next?"

He checked his timetable. "History."

She grinned. "Me too! Are we in the same class again?" They compared timetables and her smile dropped. "Aww, next door."

He laughed. "Miss me already huh?" he taunted.

She elbowed him in the gut, cutting his laughter short. "It's just nice having a friend in my class," she pouted.

"A friend huh?" He grinned down at her.

She smiled back up. "Of course, what else would I call you?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Sexy beast maybe?"

Another elbow.

* * *

History class was rather uneventful to start. Natsu was in her class, but he fell asleep almost as soon as it started.

Halfway through her teacher, a large bald man named Mr Neekis, had to step outside to speak to another teacher. While he was gone, Levy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to face two guys she vaguely recognised. They both bore Fairy Tail ties and large grins. "Hey, you're Levy right? The new scholarship girl?" one asked. He had bright orange hair, spiked up around his face and a wolfy grin. The other had black hair and tan skin.

She nodded her assent. "I'm Sarusuke. Everyone calls me Jet. This is Droy." He indicated to them both. "We saw you at the introductions last night, and we were in your science class last period."

She smiled. "Ah, of course. I thought I recognised you. You sat behind me."

They nodded. "And you sat with that _devil_..." They shuddered, not able to finish their sentence.

She tilted her head. "Who? Gajeel?" They nodded again, terrified expressions on their face. She giggled. "Oh, he's harmless."

Jet turned serious, grabbing both her hands between his. "No, he's really not. We've heard rumours about him... they say the girls he goes on dates with never come back the same... If he does anything to you Levy, you have to come to us! We'll deal with him!"

Her face turned brooding, ignoring their last statement. "Dates...?" Lucy had not mentioned anything about him dating people...

Droy piped in. "Yeah, they always come back in a daze. Nobody knows where he takes them, but when they return, it's never the same. I bet he curses them or something. Sells their soul to his devil master."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I highly doubt he has a _devil master _guys."

Her laugh was infectious to them and they ended up laughing too. Mr Neekis took this moment to return to the classroom and resume the lesson. They quietened down and she returned to facing the front. Despite laughing, she was annoyed at what they said. Did Gajeel really take a lot of girls on dates? Obviously enough for a weird rumour to be made... She mulled over the new information, her aura growing darker and darker throughout the class until by the end, it was practically visible.

Was Gajeel just some idiotic player, only leading her on to get some tail? Why hadn't Lucy told her about this? Why didn't anyone else? Surely they just didn't know. Surely they didn't know, even if he was. And if he was, how did he manage to keep it from her other friends? It was obviously a lie. Right?

There were so many questions she had unanswered. But she knew there was only one way she could find out the truth: go to the source.

The bell rang and she shot out the door to wait beside the next classroom. When the pierced man emerged, she grabbed his arm and yanked him down the hallway. "We need to talk," she stated.

"What the hell shrimp?" he growled, trying to get out of her grip. She was surprisingly steadfast when in need of answers. Though to be fair, he wasn't putting up too much of a resistance.

When she located a reasonably empty hallway, she stopped and released his arm. She crossed her arms and looked up at him angrily. "I heard a rumour about you going on heaps of dates with women."

He scratched his head grumpily. "Yeah, so? That rumour's been flying around for years..."

"They say the girls never come back the same."

"Humph. Are they also still saying I make pacts with the devil?" She opened her mouth but couldn't decide on how to answer. He leaned down so they were eye to eye. "It's all bullshit. They're just scared of me."

Levy was lost for words. His leaning down had brought his face very close to hers. Their noses were practically touching. "Uh, well, I..." she fumbled for words. "Well... m-most rumours have at least _some_ truth to them... and you didn't really seem like the guy to do that stuff. I... I wanted to make sure I wasn't making friends with the wrong kind of guy..."

He tilted his head, not moving away. A large grin spread on to his face. "I don't recall asking you _why_ you wanted to know," he taunted. "Does little Levy perhaps have a crush on me?"

She made the quickest face she could think of to throw him off: a grimace. "Hell no." That'll do.

He laughed and stood back up. She turned on her heel and quickly walked back to the classrooms, dodging the hand that was going to ruffle her hair. She made a mental note to never try and make her hair nice when she would be in the company of Gajeel.

Natsu was waiting at the classroom door, as well as Jet and Droy. Natsu launched at Gajeel with a fist, ready to fight. Jet and Droy eyed him warily.

"We haven't had a fight in a while, Gajeel!" yelled Natsu, his fist connecting with the open palm of the taller man.

"Yeah, because I don't go into fights I know I can win easily," retorted Gajeel. They walked side by side down the hall, bickering while throwing the occasional fist or foot.

Jet and Droy fell into step with Levy. They followed the other two at a safe distance. They asked her what she ran off about, but she waved them off, telling them it was nothing. They reminded her profusely that she should call on them should she get into any trouble. She knew she should probably feel very smothered by the boys if they kept this up, but in the end she didn't mind. Instead she felt an almost brotherly presence from them. As long as she ignored their blatant and obvious want to get into her pants. Already she tried to think of ways she'd be able to turn the two boys down. Probably best to do it soon, before either guy got their hopes up. At the same time, there was certainly a problem with blurting out that sort of anti-confession too early, she didn't want to seem stand-offish or rude. The time would come, just not yet...

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I cut it at a kinda... crappy part. I'll be jumping on to the next chapter right now! Hopefully up in the next couple of days, now that Easter's all over.**

**I have this huge chapter plan set out until about chapter 20… but no matter how hard I try I can never stick to it T_T**

**This chapter was supposed to cover the entire first day but as you can see… that didn't exactly happen. I cut it short so it's not too much longer than the others. I'll be aiming for probably 5,000 a chapter. I suppose it's good for all of you, you get more chapters. And because I'm determined to get up to the good bits, I'll write faster.**

**I also take requests, if you wish for something in particular to happen in the story. A pairing, an event… I'll certainly consider it. Whatever the fans want, eh? ;D**

**Another note: I can't decide whether to make Gajeel, Wendy and Natsu all orphaned, or to have them as paying students. If I go that route, I would have the dragons be "The Dragons of the Business world; Metallicana the metalworks CEO, Igneel the coal CEO, and Grandine the alternative energies leader." Or... something like that. I can't decide if it's tacky or not. So yeah, please review with your opinions. If I go CEO route, I'll back pedal and edit my already up chapters. Let me know :3**

**Thank you, you're awesome!  
GSFG**


	4. Chapter 4

**Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence**

**Chapter 4**

**First Date... Right?**

* * *

"I want to be Levy's partner!"

"No, I want to be Levy's partner!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, trying to block out the noise of the geek squad that had attached itself to the new girl. Sadly this was practically impossible seeing as they were walking down the same hall towards the cafeteria. She didn't seem to care at all, happily trying to calm them down and help them decide who would be her partner for the term's science project. Before now they had only ever paired with each other, but it seemed they both had a thing for the flat chested girl, so their friendship had seemingly gone out the window.

"Come on guys, calm down..." she tried saying. She was quickly spoken over by the two boys.

"No no no Levy," cried Jet. "You have to pick out of us! I'm better at science, you should pick me to partner with."

"No way!" exclaimed Droy. "The only thing you're good at is running! I'm the smarter of the two."

"What did you say?!"

Levy managed to break out from between them as they closed the gap to stare each other down. She pulled back to walk near Gajeel. He looked down at her with interest. She seemed quite frazzled from the exchange. Her hair had settled once again into their perfect soft curls, giving him the urge to mess them up. No matter how much he played with it, within a couple of minutes it was back to normal, which annoyed him. His own hair naturally fell into spikes. If he didn't brush it twice a day he's probably have natural dreadlocks... Maybe he was a bit jealous. Just a tad. Not that he would ever admit this out loud.

She looked up at him, her hazel eyes seeming unnaturally big on her little face. She grinned up at him, a small flush on her cheeks. She reminded him of a small animal, ready to pet. Maybe a cat. He liked cats.

"Have you decided who you'll partner up with?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "I dunno. I usually do them by myself." Not that that bothered him. Others usually brought him down.

She pouted. "You have to have a partner."

He scoffed. "No I don't. Everyone else is stupid anyway. I'll be fine."

They walked in silence for a while. The two idiots were still arguing in front of them. The biggest idiot of them all, Natsu, had run off to get a good spot in the line for food. When he looked back down at Levy, she had a strange look on her face. Her nose kept wrinkling and twitching, as if she was contemplating something serious. He raised an eyebrow and nudged her. She looked up at him, slightly taken aback. "Y-yes?"

"You look funny," he stated. Tact was never his strong point.

She blushed and looked away. Her hand whipped up to push her hair out of her face as she looked out the window to the grounds below. They reached the stairs and he loped down, two at a time. She trotted beside him, stepping quickly to keep up. It felt like he'd gained a pet. A small blue haired pet with ill-fitting clothes. The thought made him snicker. Before they finished descending, he felt a tug on his sleeve pulling him backward.

He stopped and turned to find her a couple steps above him, effectively bringing her to his face height. A heavy blush was planted on her face. She was still clutching onto his sleeve with her fingertips. She was certainly very strange...

"U-um... I was wondering..." she stammered. He raised an eyebrow and she stared at the floor. Did she feel sick? "I was wondering... if you'd like to partner with me?"

She exhaled heavily, as if the question had taken all her effort. For some unknown reason.

He shrugged. "Sure."

She looked up, a huge grin on her face. "Really?!"

"Why not?" He pulled his sleeve out of her grip and kept walking. He'd skipped breakfast so now his stomach was grumbling. She jogged back next to him and fell into pace.

"Well, you said you didn't like partnering. I figured you wouldn't want to team up with me either."

He shrugged again. "I'm just used to it. Besides, you're a scholarship student. IE: a nerd." He grinned as she huffed.

"I am _not_ a nerd!"

"Sure you aren't shrimp."

"I'm not a shrimp either!"

He laughed. "Right." He considered asking her if she had a cold, seeing as she was acting so strange, but he decided he didn't care. If she was sick she could take care of herself. On the other hand, there was something he was contemplating showing her...

* * *

"The library?" she asked, incredulous. Gajeel walked beside her out the main doors as they made their way to the cafeteria. Jet and Droy were still so busy fighting they hadn't noticed the object of their argument had left them long before. Gajeel had invited to show her around the library? This was... unexpected to say the least.

"I know it pretty well. Didn't you say you really liked it?"

She gaped at him. "I'm surprised you remember. Yeah, I really wanna go!" She jumped up and down, buzzing with excitement. Today was going way too well. Gajeel looked back at her quizzically so she quickly composed herself and rejoined him. Despite him towering over her, she quite enjoyed walking by his side. "I mean, th-that would be nice. Thank you Gajeel."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I got no other plans anyway." He quickly walked ahead when he saw Juvia, joining up with her instead and continuing the trek to the cafeteria. He looked back and called out, "After classes!"

She nodded and waved back, her grin immovable. She rushed up to join Jet and Droy, letting them know she would not be able to partner with them. She listened to their cries and complaints all through the cafeteria line, finally saying goodbye to them when she saw Lucy's table outside in the plaza. Before they could object more she dashed off. They were certainly very full on, she was already feeling a bit claustrophobic being surrounded by them.

She dropped her tray next to Lucy's and grinned at her friend. Or moreso, continued to grin. Lucy raised an eyebrow to question her but their was no room to speak over Natsu and Gray's squabbling. To be honest, the noise levels weren't much different from when she had been with the other two. But the change from everything being about her was certainly refreshing. Levy noticed that Gajeel and Juvia were sitting nearby in the shade of a tree, so she could happily glance at him through her meal. Juvia seemed to be scolding him about something and he kept waving her off, leaving her in a huff.

The attention she was paying them did not go unnoticed by Lucy. "Soooo, I assume the morning went well for you?" she drawled, grinning like the cheshire cat.

Levy shrugged trying - and failing - to appear nonchalant. "I suppose. Gajeel and I sat together all morning. He invited me to the library after school."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "The library? That's a strange place- wait. Could this be one of those rumoured dates where the girls never come back the same? Don't let him sell your soul!"

Levy rolled her eyes at her friend melodrama. "Please, you know that's obviously a rumour."

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, it is. Though it is true he dates a lot of girls. I don't think I've ever seen him with the same one twice." She crinkled her nose as she tried to remember. Or forget. Levy was unsure of which.

Levy was shocked. "But, I asked him..."

"Asked him what?"

"He said the rumours were fake."

"Well," Lucy shook her head. "He definitely doesn't perform satanic sacrifices, but there is still plenty of other rumours to try and find an explanation for his behaviour."

"But..."

Lucy grinned. "There's one way we can find out easy. Hey Gray," she turned to the fighting boys. "Call Juvia here."

He looked up angrily. "Why should I call her?"

"Because she'd do anything for you. And immediately. So call her." She stated adamantly, promising pain for non-compliance.

He shrugged and called her name. Within a couple of seconds she was upon him, arms wrapped around his neck. "What is it, _Master_?" she purred into his ear.

He shuddered. "Lucy wanted you."

Her eyes snapped to Lucy, a heated glare lighting the dull blue of her irises. "Love rival..." she growled.

Lucy waved her threat away. "I don't want Gray. I want info." Juvia cocked an eyebrow. "Levy here got a date with Gajeel. I want to know if the rumours are true."

Juvia brought her attention to Levy. She gulped. Juvia scanned her face, scrutinizing her. Finally she spoke. "Do you like Gajeel?" she asked softly.

Levy blushed but managed a quick nod. Gray and Natsu looked at each other with surprise. Juvia's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't go then. Do not go with him. Ever."

Levy opened her mouth to respond but had no answer. Juvia promptly kissed Gray on the cheek and trotted back to Gajeel. She looked at Lucy, but the blonde also had no answers.

* * *

The bell rang to signify the last class was officially over, as was her decision making time. The girls jogged back up the field to the locker rooms to get changed. Despite her slight frame, Levy was happy to notice she was fitter than most of the other girls in her dorm's grade level. While her bust was certainly lacking compared to Lucy, she made up for it with her - if she did say so herself - wonderful derriere. The physical and etiquette classes were divided in a very specific way; a single class was divided by dorm, grade and gender, but contained all from that group. Meaning she was with Lucy, Juvia and the girl she knew to be Laki, as well as a few others she didn't know the names of.

They filed into the gymnasium and caught a glimpse of the Fairy Tail boys, running a circuit around the basketball course. Her eyes immediately snapped to Gajeel, in all his muscly, sweaty, shirtless glory. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing much of his well defined back. She had never seen a back as attractive as the one in front of her right now. Though she also noted that his back was marred with more than a few scars. His forearms were also marred. She couldn't see his chest so wasn't able to tell if they continued the pattern there. A sight for another day...

Once inside the locker rooms she made quickly for the showers, desperate to wash herself off as best she could. Through the day she had talked more with Lucy and decided that she would go ahead with her so-called 'date' with Gajeel. Damn the risks. Juvia watched on, unimpressed.

She quickly stripped and jumped into the shower, grateful for the hot water. Another major benefit of being such a high-class school; excellent and well stocked amenities. They even kept shampoo and conditioner in the showers. She scrubbed herself as fast as she could, hoping that she would be finished before Gajeel and he wouldn't have to wait. He hardly seemed like the patient type. Once she considered herself reasonably clean she wrapped herself up and changed back into her uniform.

She waved a quick goodbye to Lucy who flashed her a big grin and a thumbs up. She returned the gestures. Nervous excitement pulsed through her body. She'd been on dates before, but not with someone she barely knew, and definitely not someone so... cool. Her other dates had always been geeky guys who she had likes more for personality than looks. This was almost entirely different. Though she was certainly enjoying Gajeel's playful nature as well. Playful being the 'nice' way of wording it. Jerkish being the not-so-nice way. It was a refreshing change from all the guys who treated her like she was made of porcelain.

She set down her bag between the two changing room entrances, happy to note that he wasn't waiting for her. A few minutes past as she leaned against the wall. People were starting to trickle out on each side of her. She stared at the roof of the gym, counting how many balls had become stuck in the high beams. Quite a few.

A hand on her wet hair caught her off-guard. She had become somewhat accustomed to his greetings now through and just smiled up at him. A blush already worked its way onto her face as she remembered why she was here. A date. With _him_. His hair was out of its tie, as wet as hers was. He still looked slightly flushed from his workout. Or maybe he was nervous too?

No, definitely just from the workout. Surely.

He grinned. "I figured you'd have wimped out by now Shrimp," he mocked.

Levy shook her head, not moving his hand. "Nope. There's no way I'm missing out on a guided tour of the library."

He snorted. "Right. Especially by me."

She rolled her eyes, pretending that wasn't a major reason why. "You're so full of yourself Gajeel."

He laughed and set off for the doors. She quickly met up with him, falling into stride beside him. They barely spoke on the way to the library. Her nerves were building. She began to be quite anxious. What if he didn't like her? What if she was boring? What if he showed interest in a different girl and walked off? She shuddered at the last thought. That would be absolutely mortifying.

A wolf whistle sounded behind the couple. She jumped and turned around to see a jovial Natsu. He was walking a few metres back with Gray, egging them on. Gajeel threw up his finger at them and turned up to the steps of the library. Levy poked her tongue at the pink haired boy and trotted after him.

The let out a breath as she took in the sight of the doors. They were pulled wide open to allow for easy access. Without that, she wondered if she would be able to to open them at all. They were thick, solid wood and stood easily twice her height. Inside she could already see and smell the beauteous library of her dreams. Without a second thought to her 'date' she ran inside.

It was more beautiful than she had imagined. Polished dark wood, amber lighting, red velvet. Bookshelves to the ceilings, spiral staircases leading to levels above. She walked quickly through the building - running would be rude - gazing upon a dream come true. Her hand trailed the spines of books, the slightly rough bindings adding to the overall experience. The smell alone was enchanting; the smell of a night curled up on a couch, enthralled in a fantasy land.

She noticed Gajeel climbing the stairs to a second level and finally remembered who had accompanied her here. With a small blush of realisation, she followed after him. She caught up with him in one of the back aisles of the second floor, rubbing his shoulder. She placed a hand on his arm, grabbing his attention. "Sorry Gajeel," she panted, slightly out of breath from the chase. "I kinda got swept away."

He smirked down at her, melting her nervousness. "I noticed. I figured you'd come find me when you snapped back to reality."

She smiled. "You're lucky I saw you. Otherwise I may have found an intriguing book and been gone for the evening."

He cocked his head. "That's not what usually happens when I bring girls here." His eyes gleamed, a fire lighting the redness so they practically flickered. He seemed slightly different here...

"Other... girls?" The reality began to set in. This was where he took girls. His smirk widened. Was that why Juvia didn't want her to come?

"I'll admit some of the rumours are true. I do bring girls here. And they really don't come back the same..."

His teeth glinted in the dim light. Levy gulped. She knew that if she asked, she would regret it but curiosity was always a flaw of hers.

"W-why...?"

She didn't need to finish the sentence before he grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him. He weaved through the aisles, following a path he knew off by hand. The hand clasping hers was clammy, as if with anticipation. He led her further towards the back of the library, further from the groups of students. They went up another staircase to what she gathered was the area dedicated to excess books. She wondered to herself how big this library really was. The finally reached the end of the line, a short hall filled with outdated chemistry books. He rushed forward, making her stumble.

He whipped her forwards, pressing her back against the wall. Her back slammed uncomfortably into the banister. Before she could cry out in pain she was silenced by his hands going to either side of her head and his body closing in on hers.

A pair of hot lips upon her own.

Her brain ceased to function.

His lips moved against hers, demanding entrance. His lip piercing dug into her chin. His dark hair fell around her like a curtain as he leaned down over her, blocking out the already dim light of a far off window. Gajeel's hand moved to cup her face, pulling it up to meet his. The other hand stayed against the wall, stabilising him so he didn't have all his weight on her. She could smell his deodorant, freshly applied after his shower. It was a deep, musky smell that she had been able to faintly smell on him while she had been beside him earlier.

He was so close that his chest rose and fell against hers as he panted, the proximity making it even harder for her to breathe normally. A tongue darted out, prying against her frozen lips. After some demanding pressure, he finally gained entry, diving into her mouth, willing her tongue to move against his. Her panting for air combined with the blood rushing through her veins became almost deafening.

She had no idea what to think. It was complete and utter sensory overload. All five senses were being filled with Gajeel. Her brain was beginning to shut down completely, accepting the ministrations from the boy above her. Her hands shakily made their way around his waist, clutching at his shirt. He groaned in excitement and pressed in tighter, squeezing her against the wall. The pain in her back was dulled by all the other sensations.

He pulled back for air, looking down at her. She could tell he was staring her in the eyes, but she was too glazed over to tell. She had only ever been pecked on the lips by a guy before. This was... on a whole different plane to that.

He chuckled. "Never thought you'd have it in you Shortie..." he panted. "Figured you'd have run by now."

She blinked a few times as his face came into view. His lips were swollen from the pressure he had been applying. His mouth was open enough for her to see his canines peeking from under his lips. She panted heavier, looking up into his eyes. They burned with an intensity she had never seen before.

"Ga… Gaj…" she couldn't manage his name. He grinned, leaning down further to kiss her neck. She sighed and tilted her head. She was on complete auto-pilot at the moment, allowing Gajeel to do whatever he felt to her. A small moan escaped her lips and he bit down on the junction of her neck.

"You're surprisingly receptive…" he growled, not releasing her flesh. "I might bring you back one day."

That brought some sense back to her. "Do you… do you do this often? With other girls?"

He lapped at her neck. "This is my favourite pastime."

She frowned and grabbed his face pulling him back to look him in the face. The cogs in her brain were turning again. "You do this with girls in the library?"

He grinned, almost sadistically. "Haven't you ever thought of it?" He leaned in close, pressing his whole body against her. One knee found its way between her legs. "The excitement of being in a public place… you can get caught at any time…" he whispered into her ear, licking the lobe. She shivered. "It's best in the library, where any loud noise will have you caught instantly…" He bit down over her ear piercing making her cry out gently. She could feel his grin.

"You're…" she panted. "An exhibitionist?!"

"Exactly."

His knee began to move between her legs, grinding against her. She held her hand against her mouth to stifle her cries. This was wrong. She hated this. She was destroying the sanctity of the library of her dreams! But no matter how much her mind protested, her body refused to act.

"This- We- I can't…" She couldn't form more than a word or two at a time. Gajeel's hands grasped her ass and pulled her up to his level, pinning her between the wall and himself. She could feel his already firm member just beneath her, straining against the cloth. He truly was very turned on my the concept of being caught. Her eyes widened at the realisation. If she couldn't stop this soon, it would be all over for her. She would lose her virginity in a sacred place, in the most un-sacred of ways. And if anyone caught her...

She screwed her eyes shut and prayed for him to stop. Tears pricked at her eyes. This was wrong. He was nothing like she thought he was.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Gajeel jumped back, dropping her unceremoniously to her butt. She gasped in pain and relief at the familiar voice that had interrupted them.

She looked up to see Jet facing off against Gajeel, both of them livid. She could never have imagined that she would be so happy to see someone pull Gajeel off her like that. Droy rushed over to her, helping her up. She wrapped her arms around him, practically crying with relief. His arms were tight around her and he was shaking with rage.

"What. The FUCK were you doing to her?!" Jet ground out, staring at Gajeel. Gajeel had his arms folded and was leaning against the bookshelf, his normal cool demeanour resumed.

"Short stuff and I were just having some fun," he stated calmly. All traces of his need were hidden under his hard exterior. "Weren't we?"

She knew he was looking at her, waiting for her to respond and defend their time together. She couldn't bear to look at him. Instead, she yanked on Droy's shirt, signifying she wanted to leave. He held her waist tight and turned to lead her out. As they walked past Jet, she grabbed his arm and gave him pleading eyes to come with them. Her voice still failed her. She shook her head, telling him to leave it for now. He growled, but complied, holding her hand out of the library. They probably seemed like a strange group; two furious boys and a girl who could barely hold herself up. But they didn't care.

When they were outside she indicated they should sit in the shade nearby rather than go back to the dorm. She couldn't handle that yet. Lucy would be waiting for her to give the 'great news'.

Once down she pulled her legs up, hugged them and buried her face in her knees. If it were possible, she'd never come out. Finally she allowed herself to accept what had just happened. Tears sprung into her eyes.

"I was so useless... If you guys hadn't come..." she sobbed.

Droy gripped her shoulder as they shook. The two sat in silence for a while, Jet pacing in front of them, keeping an eye on the library door.

When her sobs softened Droy spoke up. "That bastard. I always knew there was something about him." He shook as well, with rage rather than shame.

"That fucker has to pay for what he did to you Levy," Jet ground out.

Her head shot up. "No!" she cried. They both looked at her tear-streaked face with shock. She didn't understand why she objected either. It was only right for Gajeel to pay for what he did to her. Right?

Deep down she knew she couldn't get him in trouble.

"No, we can't tell anyone," she said again.

"Levy, you don't have to-" Jet started, trailing off.

"I only just got here. If I start fights now, I could come off as the bad guy, not him," she reasoned. When they couldn't object she continued. "If Gajeel tries to come at me again, I'll go straight to Master Makarov. For now... let's just pretend like nothing happened."

Droy stood up, outraged. "Are you serious Levy?! We can't let that bastard get away with this! You heard the rumours, heaps of girls have been with him! You're just one victim of many..."

"But you don't know if those girls are actually victims," she reasoned again. The boys exchanged looks of skepticism but remained quiet. She decided to appeal to their protective sides. "How about this? I will always stay with someone else, and never be in his presence alone. You two can keep an eye on me."

Their eyes gleamed. She knew that in the end, she was just taking advantage of their affections but at the moment she truly felt like she could use their protection. Why not take advantage of what they were willing to give? At least until she felt a little safer.

They sat down with her again to plan out how she would deal with each day of the school week. Within half an hour their faces were bright and happy, nearly all of her earlier terror forgotten. Levy kept a big smile on her face at all times, hoping they wouldn't notice how fakely plastered on it was.

As the sun began to set she made an excuse up of meeting Lucy and ran off. They allowed her to go, seeing as they could watch her all the way to the dorm doorway. Normally they would follow her but they felt they needed to make more plans together. She was grateful they didn't feel the need to escort her all the way to her room.

Once inside she avoided all eye contact with fellow dorm members and bee-lined to her bedroom. Once the door was closed she fell against it and slid down, resuming her previous position on the floor. While making sure to remain quiet, she cried freely.

* * *

**Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out, I've been fretting over it since the last release. I previously posted (and quickly took down) a similar version to this story before. I did not receive any good feedback _' many saw it as very OOC for Gajeel. To be fair, I can see where they are coming from.**

**BUT I HAVE REASON.**

**I will be loosely following the storyline layout of the original Fairy Tail throughout this fanfiction. As such, I need to have the introductory 'betrayal' scene between Gajeel and Levy. It will get better and fluffier, I promise!**

**I'm also planning out a super long story that will be as canon as I can possibly get it to manga/anime. I'm currently taking down very detailed notes for the manga, then I will be going through the anime as well to add/edit content. Once complete I will begin what I hope to be the best version of Gajevy, canon behind-the-scenes. Definitely best version in my mind :D So yah, look forward to that.**

**Also a smutty oneshot (entirely from my head) and two stories that will have content 'borrowed' from a manga and a book series respectively. All M rated. If that's your jam, then follow me as an author and you'll hopefully get some great Gajevy coming your way!**

**Constructive Criticism most welcome,**

**GSFG.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Mavis Vermillion Academy of Excellence**

**Chapter 5**

**What Goes Bump in the Night**

* * *

Levy opened the door to Lucy the next morning with bloodshot eyes. Her red eyes were not due to copious amounts of crying – she had stopped long ago. The problem was that she had not been able to get even the tiniest amount of sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes all the memories came to the forefront of her mind and made her so furious and embarrassed that she had to bolt back out of bed.

Instead of sleep she had spent the night setting out her school books to perfection and glaring at the wall separating her and Gajeel, hoping to burn through and into his skull. From the snores she heard, he didn't lose any sleep at all over yesterday's fiasco.

This time Lucy came empty handed, much to Levy's disappointment. She had hoped the blonde would be sporting a cup of coffee like yesterday, but to no avail. Seeing as it was only a half day of classes, they had plenty of time to kill. As such, she had to get her own breakfast.

"You were supposed to come see me yesterday, tell me how your date went!" Lucy scolded.

Levy had prepared her sorry speech. "I'm sorry Luce, I was just so tired. I got back to the dorm and went straight to bed. It wasn't even that interesting a date really."

Lucy's eyebrows raised in scepticism. "You look really tired though… and what do you mean it wasn't interesting?!"

She wished she'd thought of a better excuse. You'd think with a whole night to plan it out she'd have a perfect escape. Obviously not. "I ended up waking up really early and I've been on my laptop all morning. Got a bit of square eyes, you know? And… yeah, the date was kinda boring."

Lucy seemed to accept the cover-up. "How can a date with Gajeel be boring? That is a word I have never heard go with him in a sentence…"

Levy laughed. "Well, I guess he and I didn't gel."

"Ugh, bummer."

Cover up accepted. Great success.

She was already dressed in one of the outfits Lucy bought her so they walked out and down to the cafeteria. She made a beeline for the coffee area, ordering the largest cup she could get. She didn't even care that it scalded her tongue. Caffeine was the most important factor in her survival for the day. With no sleep for the night and barely any the night before, she wasn't sure if it was even possible. Though hopefully by the time she went back to her room she could pass out and not even have time to think about Gajeel at all.

Deciding all stomach capacity would have to be directed at coffee, she skipped the breakfast line and found a table for her and Lucy. The blonde joined her soon after with a bowl of muesli and fruit. She seemed to care quite a bit about maintaining her figure. Maybe if Levy ate better she would have breasts too… an in-depth contemplation for another day.

"Alright, I want details."

Levy mentally snapped her fingers. She thought she'd gotten away. She shrugged. "There's not much to tell. We went to the library, he showed me around, we chatted a bit; it was pretty boring. I ended up just saying goodbye, finding a good book and a cosy corner." She did her best to sound bored.

"I suppose, it is pretty hard to maintain conversation with Gajeel."

"Exactly."

They sat in silence for a while, Levy sipping her coffee and looking around the room. She noticed Jet and Droy sitting in the corner trying not to look suspicious while watching her. She hid a smile behind the rim of her cup. It seemed they were deadly serious about keeping an eye on her. Lucy laughing brought her back to the table. She cocked her head in curiosity at her friend who seemed to be having difficulty swallowing her food around her laughter.

When she finally swallowed, she let out a big grin. "I guess we have finally figured out why all the girls 'come back changed' from dates with Gajeel. They're all so amazed at how boring he is!"

She laughed along with her friend, wishing that were true.

* * *

Gajeel ran at full pelt on the treadmill. Nothing like a morning in the gym to burn off his frustration. After he'd been denied his fun yesterday he was more pent up than usual. Curse that little chick. He only chose her because he thought he'd change it up from the usual busty bimbo. Now he had been denied, and two of the most annoying twats of Fairy Tail had seen him.

He was amazed that he hadn't already been called to Makarov's office to sit next to a teary shrimp and defend himself. Either she hadn't told or they just hadn't found him yet. Or maybe she hadn't told yet. It was too early to tell. He should probably go find her, see if she looks like she's going to tell, then threaten her out of it. A good threatening never went astray in saving his ass.

He slowed down to a jog, glaring at the white wall in front of him. This was the first time a girl had turned him down. He always got his way with the girls he wanted. Even if they weren't totally up for it in the start, they always were in the end. Then, of course, they'd always be chasing him up for seconds. Occasionally he would oblige, usually when he couldn't find any new prey. But taking something down for the second time was never as fun.

And yet… yesterday he had said he would bring her back for a second go. That never happened. He never made a decision like that with any of the others. She did make some nice noises though. And that ass… he never thought someone with so little chest and stature could have such a nice behind.

He jumped off the treadmill onto the side plates to stop both running and his train of thought. There was no point considering her like that. There was no way in hell he'd take her back there. No way. He stopped the machine and went to his gym back for his boxing gloves. He needed to punch something. NOW.

"Yo, Gajeel, you're in her early!"

A menacing grin spread on his lips. "Natsu, wanna spar?"

* * *

Aries' shop was so dainty. Despite only being a dry cleaning and tailor shop, it was cuter than… well… anything. She seemed to have a thing for pink wool throws. Pink in general. Even her hair was pink. But despite the pure amount of the colour, the room didn't seem overdone. Everything seemed to blend together well, providing a very cozy atmosphere. The wool definitely helped that.

Levy and Lucy sat happily in the front room chatting away while Aries' sewing machine could be heard buzzing away in the background. Levy was getting all her uniform pieces taken in to match her body shape, seeing as the stock size uniform was incredibly long on her just about everywhere. She was considering another coffee but didn't want Lucy catching on that she was really tired. The conversation was enough to keep her awake for now.

The sewing machine stopped suddenly, and they could hear shuffling noises. Shortly after Aries reappeared, a folded pile of clothes in her arms. "So sorry for taking so long."

"You were no time at all!" reassured Lucy.

"I'm sorry…"

Levy took the pile from the still apologising lady and went the dressing room to try the clothes on. As she put together her buttons on her blouse she could already tell how much of a difference it had made. The clothing no longer sagged on her chest. It seems they accounted for large breasts as normal in this school…

She slipped her shoes back on and stepped out to show Lucy. The uniform fit her perfectly now. No more just visible fingers or folded up skirt. She thanked Aries and pulled out her wallet to pay. Lucy was pouty that she couldn't spend more of her father's money, but she and Levy had come to the agreement that she couldn't spend more on her.

"Please bring it right back if there are any issues."

"I will, thank you very much."

"You're very welcome. I'm sorry."

Levy stuffed the clothes she came in into her bag and they exited the shop onto the main street of Magnolia. The midday sun beat on them as they rushed to the shade of the hill back towards the school. Many other students could be seen traipsing up the hill. It was getting close to class time so they all had to return to the school grounds and fetch their school bags or get dressed. At least Levy didn't need to worry about the latter. And with all her free time through the night, she had practiced makeup and watched tutorials enough to make herself look at least half decent. All she needed was her bag with her school books and she was good to go. Hopefully she could get in and out of the dorm without seeing Gajeel.

She didn't have any classes with him today, thank her lucky stars.

The two girls walked through the school gates and up the drive to the dorm rooms. As they passed the main hall they heard a loud yell behind them. They turned to see Natsu jogging up in his gym gear, gym bag slung along his body and swollen purple bruise on his cheek. "Sup."

"What's up with you?" retorted Lucy. "What happened to your face?"

He shrugged, a big grin on his face. "Had a spar with Gajeel."

"Geez, all you ever do is work out and fight."

"Two best things in the world!"

Lucy looked at Levy in exasperation and shook her head. Levy laughed along, thankful she now at least knew where Gajeel was, so she could better avoid him later.

"Gajeel seemed more ticked off than usual, did you piss him off Levy?"

She pretended to look innocent. "Huh? I don't think so…"

Lucy laughed. "She found him boring."

Natsu laughed with her. "That'd do it."

They entered the dorms and all headed upstairs. Natsu kept going up to the third floor where they got off at the second. Levy made an excuse to leave alone so she could go wallow for a while. Lucy was happy to oblige as she needed to go expertly apply her face.

Back in her room she let out a large sigh and plopped down on the bed. It was incredibly exhausting to lie so much. She hardly ever lied so maintaining the façade all morning had been a true mission. For the near future, she expected this would be the only place where she would be able to just relax and let it out. At least until this whole thing blew over and everyone forgot it even happened.

She eyed the pillows wishfully. If only she could just lie down and sleep. However, she had to get ready for class now. With another sigh she dragged herself off the immensely comfy and inviting bed to pack her school bag. Or rather, repack it seeing as it was already done. But she had nothing better to do and needed to kill time, just in case Lucy saw her.

Once packed to perfection again, she slung it over her shoulder and decided to go back to the coffee stand for her second cup of the day, which would hopefully pull her through to the end of classes. She pulled open her door and stepped into the hallway, into the one person she had hoped desperately to not see today.

* * *

Gajeel looked down at the object of his confusion and frustration. He had just come back from the gym and was heading to his room when she ran straight into him. She really needed to watch where she was going.

She looked up in terror. He decided there was no time like the present to stop her getting his ass suspended or expelled. He pushed her back into the room she came from and closed the door. He stood in the doorway so she couldn't run. He felt this was mandatory because she looked as if that was the only idea on her mind. Her fight or flight mechanism had definitely chosen flight. "We… need to talk," he stated.

"A-about what?" she stammered quietly.

"What do you think we need to talk about? Yesterday." He kept his voice low so that other people definitely wouldn't hear them. The last thing he needed was some gossipy girl overhearing this conversation.

She stepped further back into the room, falling onto the bed when the backs of her legs hit it. "I… I think it's fine if we don't talk about it. At all. Ever."

He raised an eyebrow. "You won't tell Makarov?"

"No… no I won't."

"What about the geek squad?"

"Uh, they promised they wouldn't either."

He frowned and crossed his arms, inspecting the girl in front of him. She was obviously terrified, so why didn't she tell anyone what happened? "Why?"

"I… uh… don't want to cause trouble…" She stared at the hands, slightly embarrassed.

"That it?"

"Well, uh… hmm…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. It was obvious she had something to say, but maybe not how to word it.

"Out with it Shrimp."

With a heavy blush she looked at him in the eyes. "Do… the other girls you take… do they enjoy it?"

He cocked his head in confusion. "Well, yes. I'm not a rapist."

"So, I'm the first one to turn you down?"

He scowled but his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Yep. All the other girls have had a blast."

"Hmm…" She returned to staring at her hands. "Alright. I won't tell."

* * *

The classes for the afternoon went by quickly. Her advanced english class had Lucy, Lisanna, Laki, Jet and Droy all in it and as such the time went quickly and enjoyably, even though it was a double length session. The large coffee she brought in helped. The etiquette class also went quickly, with the teacher going through the ground rules and course structure. She spaced out for most of the lecture.

Her thoughts kept drifting back to her meeting with Gajeel in her room. He seemed very relieved that she decided not to tell, but also quite confused by her decision. She was still a bit confused herself.

She of course didn't tell anyone of this meeting, most certainly not Jet and Droy. Their meeting did make her feel a lot safer; Gajeel seemed content to leave her alone now. It would be a long time before she'd be happy to hold a conversation with him again, if ever. But at least she didn't have to worry if he was around every corner. She'd let Jet and Droy watch over her a while longer – more for their happiness than for her safety – but she'd have to disband them soon.

She walked back to her room in the afternoon with Lucy and excused herself, eager for her pillow and blanket. As soon as she locked her door she stripped to her undergarments. Pulling on the first oversize shirt she could find, she happily dived in the bed. As soon as she had settled in she fell asleep.

* * *

_Gajeel's callused hands ran roughly over her body, leaving tingling trails. He leaned over her small frame to press his lips against hers. A happy mewl escaped her lips as she clutched his face, pulling him deeper into the kiss, happy to be in a bed rather than against a wall. His hands wandered to her butt, giving an appreciative squeeze. She rocked her hips into him in reply, earning her a lust filled growl. One of his hands moved to his fly, fumbling with the zip-pull in his haste._

_"Ah, Gajeel…" she panted, pushing him back to breathe._

_"Mmm?"_

_"You're driving me nuts here."_

_"Gihihi, that's the idea…"_

_Giving up on his zip for now, Gajeel rolled over, pulling her on top of him. Levy straddled his waist and ground against him to try and relieve their building need even slightly. He pulled her down to gain access to her neck, sucking and biting in the most delicious way. Her hands pressed tightly against his chest, nails digging in slightly._

_"I… need you. Now," she moaned._

_She griped at his zip, finally getting it open. They both worked the pants off, releasing his hard member. Wasting no time, he threw her back over so he was on top and placed himself at her entrance._

_With one quick thrust he-_

Levy shot up in bed, covered in sweat. She groaned and put her head in her hands. No way. Shivers went down her back as she thought back to her dream. It had been surprisingly graphic. But, like all dreams, full of loopholes. Like, when did her underwear come off?

She ran a hand through her hair and looked at her alarm clock. Four in the morning. She'd crashed out at around five yesterday so that was a good eleven hours of sleep, albeit full of… him.

She was practically drenched with sweat, and although she hated to admit it, she also felt somewhat wet in her lower regions. Great. He haunted her everywhere and in the worst of ways.

She pulled herself out of bed and grabbed her toiletries. Nothing to do but take a shower.

She peeked out into the hallway to ensure nobody was there. Thankfully everyone was still asleep so she traipsed out and into the bathroom. Wasting no time she pulled off her now gross clothing and jumped in a probably too hot shower.

She sighed happily as the hot water washed over her, taking away the sweat (and touch of shame). A liberal amount of soaping later and she felt relatively human again. And after a good shampoo, condition and leg shaving she decided she didn't give a damn about Gajeel. She'd just have to find a nice young man who took her fancy, that preferably wasn't a man-whore. One that didn't have long black hair, multiple piercings, dark red eyes, tanned skin, a sexy body…

No, focus Levy! She shook her head and turned off the taps, grabbing her towel. It would obviously take a while to properly get over Gajeel, especially if she kept having dreams like _that_ one. As long as she kept reminding herself that he's no good for her, hopefully her heart (and libido) would get the message.

After she had towelled off she wrapped it around her and stepped out to change. However, when she looked at her toiletries and the pile of sweaty clothing, she realised that she'd forgotten to bring a fresh change of clothes. She grimaced. Great.

With a resigned sigh she collected her things and braved herself for the towel-clothed walk back to her room. Hopefully everyone was still asleep. She peered around the corner of the door and it seemed that she was correct. She began her trek.

A few steps out she heard shuffling. Panicking she rushed forward to her room. Someone else unlocked their door. She yanked open her door, heart pounding. She ran inside just as the other opened. She exhaled as she closed the door and leaned her head on it. Safe, but only just.

She turned around and walked to her wardrobe to find a comfy change of clothes to wear for the next few hours. Only to see a desk where her wardrobe should be. A desk piled high with black clothes and empty cans of coke.

She was not in her room.

Her heart stopped beating as her brain came to the realisation of whose room she was in. Her eyes quickly confirmed as she saw in the dim morning light the sleeping form of Gajeel.

He didn't sleep with a blanket. Or clothes, for that matter. He did wear his underwear but the boxer briefs left very little to the imagination. She finally got to see his chest at least, and it was as perfect as she had originally thought. Toned and bulky, but not too much. Just enough.

She completely froze, unsure of what to do. If he woke up she would be dead. Dead in a towel. Not the way she wanted to go. She wanted to go when she was old and had heaps of grandchildren. Not when she's a virgin in high school.

"How much longer are you going to stand there staring at me?"

She was so dead.

* * *

She was in his room. Staring at him. In a towel.

He pretended to sleep for a while, watching her out of slitted eyes. The light was dim enough that she couldn't tell. When he deemed that she had obviously frozen he made his consciousness known, likely freaking her out more. Though she didn't move, he could tell she was about to wet herself.

He stood up and approached her. He could see her eyes travelling all over his body, from his chest to his abdomen to his underwear, then snapping back up to his face, then back down…

Although she was terrified, she definitely still liked him. Much to his satisfaction.

Like a hunter stalking its prey, he closed in on her tiny frame. Placing his hands on either side of the door behind her – she had backed up onto it – he leaned down so they came eye to eye.

"What are you doing here Shrimp?" he growled, doing his best to sound sexy and menacing at the same time. Which, naturally, he nailed.

She gulped. "I… uh… um…" As always when in close proximity to him she couldn't form a concrete sentence. He found it amusing so he closed the gap between them slightly, their noses almost touching. Her eyes were wide. "I… I forgot my c-clothes in my room."

"This ain't your room," he breathed.

"Y-yes, well… someone came into the hallway…"

"So you just came into mine instead?"

She frowned, frustrated. He seemed to be pissing her off. "I obviously thought this was my room. I made a mistake."

He grinned. He liked her frustrated. She had a small pout on her lips, making them look all the more… edible. "Maybe you were coming in here to apologise for your behaviour in the library? Come to try again?"

Her frown turned into a scowl. Her eyes blazed. Now he'd ticked her off. "No Gajeel," she stated firmly.

He leaned his face down to her neck, placing one chaste kiss there. Her breath hitched. "Sure?"

"I want nothing to do with a man like you," she breathed.

He moved up to her ear, darting his tongue out to lick the lobe. "Ah, but men like me are the most fun to be with. I know every trick in the book."

"Probably every STD too."

He pushed off her, all flirting forgotten. Now it was his turn to be pissed off. "I've never gotten an STD. I ain't no idiot." The way she raised her eyebrows said she questioned that. "I know how to protect myself," he hissed.

"You didn't seem to when we were in the library," she huffed.

"I had a condom in my pocket, idiot. Did you want me to whip it out when we started?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but quickly snapped it shut. He obviously made sense and she knew it. _She_ obviously had little to no real life experience at all.

He had a realisation. "How far have you gotten with a guy before?" he asked.

She blushed. He sighed and pushed his hair back. Of course. She was a virgin. That explained why he hadn't been able to get her like all the others. He usually picked sluts who were easy targets.

"You're still a virgin at your age? Geez."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with that! I'm just waiting for the right guy. One who hasn't slept with hundreds of girls before me." If she hadn't already crossed her arms over her chest, they definitely would be there now.

"Lemme guess," he drawled. "You want a guy who is also a virgin." She nodded resolutely. He smirked. "A guy who's going to finish a few seconds after he started, likely not even get it in, and if he does get it in he'll have no idea what to do with it."

She gaped like a fish but couldn't reply. Once again, he made too much sense for her. But her frowned to himself. What was he doing? He wasn't going to try at her again, so why was he telling her it was such a good thing?

"At… at least the guy would have feelings about me," she finally stated. "I wouldn't just be 'another chick' to him."

"Fine, go date one of the geek squad. I'm sure their still virgins," he growled annoyedly. She scrunched up her nose, leaving him satisfied. But that only confused him further, as he didn't know why he was so satisfied. "See? You want a guy with knowledge in bed."

"Or up the wall, in your case?"

He grinned wildly. "The wall is the best place for sex."

"The library isn't," she pouted.

"Is that why you're pissy? 'Coz we did it in the library?"

She blushed hard. "We didn't 'do it'. And yes. Such an act is disrespectful to that beautiful building."

If it wasn't early morning he would have roared with laughter. Instead he kept it to a low chuckle.

"Well, if that's your problem we can try again right here." What did he say _that_ for? Did he not just say he wasn't going to try her again?

Her eyes widened in shock. He could tell she was very conflicted now. She chewed on her lower lip, eyes moving to stare at the floor. She obviously wanted to but her morals were getting in the way.

He needed to get her out of his room right now. He stepped back from her and grabbed a shirt from the pile on his desk. He threw the shirt, it landing on her head. "Here, put this on and get out."

She pulled it off her head and looked at it, dumbfounded. "H-huh?"

He scowled at her. "I was obviously joking. Now get out, I want to go back to sleep."

Without looking at her again he climbed back into bed, pulling the blankets out of the corner of the bed where they had wedged themselves.

She stood there a while longer before he heard the shuffling noises of her pulling the shirt on over her towel. She huffed angrily. "You really are a jerk, Gajeel."

He waved her away, staring at the wall.

She yanked open the door and stormed out. Soon after he heard her door open and shut as well.

He don't know who was more confused in the end by his actions; her or him.

* * *

**Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far, you're all so awesome. Whenever I wake up and see that I have a new review I get this silly little grin on my face and it doesn't leave for like five minutes or more. I love you guys.**

**One person asked if Levy was on the verge of a sexual awakening. Kukuku, I like the way you think! **

**Small note, if you ever see a symbol like XxX in my writing, it's just what I use to make page breaks in Microsoft Word. I change them over later but it's possible for me to miss one… I don't know if this is a common problem or not but the MS Word page breaks don't transfer into at all. If anyone knows of an ideal solution, let me know :D**


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